Then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers his speech during the “Advancing and Defending International Religious Freedom Through Diplomacy” symposium, in Rome, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:49 AM PT – Monday, September 20, 2021
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed the Biden administration while asserting leaders aren’t prepared to protect America’s interests. During an interview Sunday, he criticized a number of decisions made by the administration on Afghanistan, including what resulted in the deaths of civilians and Americans in the country.
“This is a debacle that didn’t have to be and has real ramifications for American security as we move forward,” Pompeo stated. “The threat from terrorism from abroad is certainly increased now.”
He added what occurred after the set date to leave the country was a sign of “stubbornness” on behalf of Joe Biden.
“He could see that the Taliban were going to take over and the government in Kabul was going to fall; he chose not to respond to make sure we had the resources necessary to get Americans out,” said the former U.S. Secretary of State. “It’s incomprehensible to me. It’s certainly not the plan the Trump administration had. They tore that up and, instead, made a hasty exit for the doors and you can see we’ve now got Americans and people who helped America and that we’ve made promises to, still held inside of that country.”
While many have questioned if the Taliban were simply better equipped than the Afghan government, Pompeo disagrees.
“The Talban are fighting for something they are prepared to die for and when the corrupt political leadership in Afghanistan, President (Ashraf ) Ghani and others fled the country, it caused a cataclysmic political failure,” he stated. “And the resulting of the disintegration of the Afghan military, much to the detriment of the women and children there in Afghanistan.”
As people in the country now try to adjust under Taliban rule, Afghanistan is close to economic collapse. Due to a large portion of the international community refusing to acknowledge the Taliban as the new governmental power in the country, which the Taliban have renamed an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, monetary assistance is diminishing.
Some worry that as the economy worsens, unrest could cause the Taliban to push back against an already fragile country.
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